Alabama in Ninth Place at Nine-Under Par after Opening 36 Holes at the SEC Match Play Hosted by Jerry Pate

The Crimson Tide’s 36-hole season low was boosted by four of the five golfers shooting even par or better on day one.

VESTAVIA HILLS, Ala. — The Alabama men's golf team finished with a team score of 9-under par 551 and is in a tie for ninth place after 36 holes of play at the SEC Match Play hosted by Jerry Pate. The Crimson Tide collected its two lowest team scores of the fall season Sunday, beginning with a season-best 6-under 274 in round one followed by a 3-under 277 in the second round.

Both Nick Dunlap (-5) and Canon Claycomb (-4) led the Crimson Tide on the opening day of play, finishing among the top-20 individuals heading into Monday's final 18 holes of stroke play. Dunlap is in a tie for 14^th after carding his 5-under 135, starting the day with a 1-under 69 before shooting a season-low round of 4-under 66 in round two. Claycomb also had two rounds in the 60s on his 4-under 136 (67-69) and is in a tie for 16^th.

Thomas Ponder was the third UA golfer to end the day under par, closing in a tie for 28^th with a 36-hole score of 1-under 139 (68-71).

The unique three-day tournament is being contested at the par 70, 7,204-yard Old Overton Club course. The teams will compete in 54 holes of stroke play with match play coming on Tuesday. The top two finishers from stroke play will square off in the final groupings of the day to determine the tournament champion, with the 12 other teams squaring off in East vs. West Match Play format.

The Highlights

• Dunlap ended his day strong with birdies in three of his final four holes of the second round
  • He has now shot in the 60s in five of his seven rounds played this season, while six of the seven have been under par
  • His 11 birdies over the 36 holes played leads Alabama and ties for sixth-most in the tournament field
• Claycomb's opening round 67 included seven birdies which marked the second time this season that he has recorded seven or more birdies in a single round
  • He now has shot a team-leading six rounds (out of seven) in the 60s this season and has 20 for his career
  • Claycomb is a combined 16-under par across the seven rounds on the year (-2.23 average vs. par)
• Ponder now has four rounds in the 60s this year with his opening round 2-under 68
• JP Cave Tyler Lipscomb and are both making their season debut
  • Cave is in a tie for 41st at 1-over par 141 (70-71)
    • He leads all individuals in the event in par 3 scoring (-3, 2.63)
  • Lipscomb is in a tie for 49th after consecutive rounds of 1-over par 71 (+2, 142)
    • He is second among all golfers with 26 pars across the 36 holes played

The Field

• Top-ranked Vanderbilt (-32, 528) holds an eight-shot lead over No. 13 Auburn (-24, 536) with No. 12 Tennessee (-23, 537) close behind
• No.16 Georgia (-13, 547), No. 17 Texas A&M (-11, 549) and No. 21 LSU (-11, 549) round out the top five teams
• No. 23 Ole Miss (-10, 550) and Mississippi State (-10, 550) are tied for seventh just a shot ahead of the 32nd-ranked Tide
• The 14-team field features 11 teams in the nation's top 50
• Other ranked teams not mentioned above include: No. 14 Arkansas, No. 33 South Carolina and No. 41 Missouri
• The SEC Match Play event replaced the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate, which was hosted by the Tide for 35 years (1986-2020)
• The event is named after Jerry Pate – one of the most successful professional golfers to have worn the crimson and white
  • Plays an active role each year in the event, including presenting the tournament trophy
  • 1974 United States Amateur champion – only weeks before he started his senior season at UA
  • Won the 1976 U.S. Open as a rookie on the tour
  • Named the 1976 PGA Rookie of the Year and Co-Player of the Year
  • Went on to win eight PGA Tournaments